Crime & Safety

How Did Costco Bandits Nab Several Hewlett Packard Computers for $100?

West Des Moines police say thieves returned to the store multiple times as part of a scam.

Costco has great some great deals — but computers for less than $100? Prices so low have to be criminal.

Officers responded to a theft at the on Mills Civic Parkway last Friday, where thieves were nabbing a discount too good to be true.

The assistant general manager of the store told officers that one man and two women had opened Costco memberships the previous week. The suspects had returned to the store on multiple occasions and swapped pricing labels from a $90 Blu-Ray player for the stickers on $979 Hewlett Packard Touchsmart computers.

Find out what's happening in West Des Moinesfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Officers were able to retrieve information on the suspects from their memberships, including names, addresses, cell phone, driver’s license and social security numbers. Costco has multiple videos of the subjects swapping the labels.

The most recent purchase was on June 21. No arrests have been made. The case is still under investigation.

Find out what's happening in West Des Moinesfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.